Onegin (1999)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Martha Fiennes

Writers:

Peter Ettedgui (screenplay)
Alexander Pushkin (poem) ...

Release Date:

5 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

In the opulent St. Petersburg of the Empire period, Eugene Onegin is a jaded but dashing aristocrat - a man often lacking in empathy...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Friend | Adultery | Soldier | Horse Drawn Sleigh Carriage

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ralph Fiennes	...	Onegin
Liv Tyler	...	Tatyana
Toby Stephens	...	Lensky
Lena Headey	...	Olga
Martin Donovan	...	Prince Nikitin
Alun Armstrong	...	Zaretsky
Simon McBurney	...	Triquet
Harriet Walter	...	Madame Larina
Jason Watkins	...	Guillot
Irene Worth	...	Princess Alina
Gwenllian Davies	...	Anisia
Margery Withers	...	Nanya
Geoffrey McGivern	...	Andrey Petrovitch
Tim McMullan	...	Dandy 1
Tim Potter	...	Dandy 2

Also Known As:

Eugene Onegin (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief violence and a sexual image.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Brazil:Livre | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | New Zealand:M | Spain:7 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Alresford, Hampshire, England, UK

Company:

7 Arts International

Trivia:

The director, Martha Fiennes, is the sister of star Ralph Fiennes. The composer is Magnus Fiennes, Ralph's brother. Sophie Fiennes, another sister of his, also appears in the credits.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ortodox Tatiana's Naming Day is January 26, but it is summertime in the movie.

Quotes:

Tatyana Larina: Why should one human being own another?

Movie Connections:

Version of Evgeniy Onegin (1984) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Mandshurian Kummut

Very good

This is a very good film overall. Having grown up in Russia and being, as we would say here, `a great Pushkin's fan' ;-), I was caught between curiosity and caution when deciding whether I should even rent this film. Then I saw Ralph Fiennes name and thought that it could not be all that bad.so curiosity won. I was pleasantly surprised that the film is fairly faithful to the original. Not completely, of course, but when I think about horrible mutilations other filmmakers perform on marvelous works of literature, I'm very grateful that the producers of `Onegin' read the poem very well and chose scenes and changed some of them with care. I won't talk a lot about beauty of scenes in the film: it's a pleasure to watch. Here are some of the things I didn't like. First of all I was a little disappointed by the film's interiors. Several of them look very natural (some of the room's in Larin's and Onegin's houses). Others (like Petersburg palaces) more than anything resemble theatrical decorations. I don't think this was intentional, since the overall scenery is very realistic. Another objection is the lovemaking scene. I don't think it belongs or was needed at all. Was it just a due paid to modern filmmaking? Why not do Tatyana's dream instead (this is a meaningful symbolic scene in the poem, not filming it could hardly be an accidental decision, I would love to know what was the reason)? The third, kind of big problem is that married Tatyana is not clearly portrayed as the queen of Petersburg's society. This detail is very important for understanding of Onegin's character: a tragic figure who can only exist within the laws and decorations of high society - the very society he despises more than anything else. Tatyana, the queen of this society, a complete part of it and yet completely not involved with it, comfortably within and yet far above the chattering crowd - that very likely is the only thing Onegin can love. Unfortunately the question `am I noble enough for you now?' which Tatyana throws at Onegin during the climax scene of the film, does not fully convey that understanding and is an oversimplification compared to the speech that Pushkin's Tatyana gives to her fallen and still loved hero.